Improved exteision-waedeobe



ROUX, or yCRYSTAL SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI.

Letters Patent No. 75,570, vdated Marc/lt 17, 1868.

IMPROVED `EXTENSIOIN'VARlDROB.

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TO 4ALL WHOM IT MAY` CONCERN:

,Beit known that I, J. G. ROUX, of Crystal Springs, in the county of Copiah, and State of Mississippi, have invented a new and improved Extension-Wardrobe5 aud I do hereby declare that. the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, lwhich will enable those skilled in the art toanakc and u se thesame, refercncc bein-g had to the accompanying drawings, forming part oi-` this specification,` inrwhich- I Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through the red'line X X', tig. 2..

Figurel 2 is a longitudinal horizontal section through the red line Z Z', tig. 1.

Figure 3 arethe cross-sections'through a: y', e' z', g. 2.

Similar-letters ofv reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention consists in so constructing a lwardrobe that the two halves of the same, standing vertically, can be (separated horizontally by turning a crank cuits top, thusexposing uprights, provided with hooks or pegs for hanging lclothes upon, V v y v The object'isl to obtain a wardrobe easy and convenient ot' access, in'which the articles'placed in it` can be exposed tn view and for selection, or Vclosed for security, both operations being performedwith facility. It is designed more particularly for` merchants, though quite practicable anddesirable for household use.

lBy referring to the drawihgs, the general parts will be seen to consist of the drums A A', sliding horizontally upon frames B B', -thewhole supported upon'the legs G O 'C' C'. T-he central post D, which connects the two frames B B', and thus forms a rigid frame, B B',VD, is hollow, and contains a vertical shaft, a, which has a stepbearing,` c, inthe bottom ofthe lower frame B. This shat'trpassesthrough the top frame B', and'has its upper 'bearing in lahollow column,'d, which'latter is surmouvnted with arms containing horizontal bearings. vThe upper end of the shaft a has a'bev'el-pinion, e, which gears into another bevelipiniomf, placed on a crank-shaft rest- -ing in the horizontal bearingsbefore mentioned, thus forming a bevel-gear for transmitting the motion from the crank g, to which the.` power isapplied..

l The drums A A' are elliptical. They constitute the body or wardrobe proper, and may be of any prac` ticable form desired, asround-sided-or oblong boxes,or they may be a framework `covered with cloth. These drums are provided With heads, E, which have openings or ports at their upper and lower extremities, through which the horizontal frames B B pass'when the Wardrobev is closedfand serve asigeneral guides for said drums when in the act ofA opening orclosing. Guide-strips, a', attached tothe drums on each side ofthe frames, bear against the said. frames, as indicated in iig. 2, and steady the drums intheir sliding motion.,

The legs'C C are not'attached directly to the frame B, Vas the legseC' C' are, but form a part of ahorizontal piece," h t 7; 7i', which issecured to the frame B at t /l',`thusv leaving horizontal openings, iz', the use of which will be shortly explained.' The under sides ot' the drums are provided with a slot, shown vatjj, which permits the opening and closing of the drums on the said parts Wn', they servqing also as a' guide to the same. This slotj is notcontinuousfacross the whole lower side of the drums, the continuity of the drums being shown at m m', which travel in the'openings z'z'. The recesses for admitting the drums to close completely around the part l, at the bottom, and-the shaft-bearing'd, at the top, are shown at n n n et.

Atthe ends of the drums are vertical strips of the same widthas' the frames BB', and secured to the drums A A' by screws. These strips areshown in section at pioppi, and their oice will be hereinafter described. A circular hatten, ggg, attached to'- the drum A',lcvers the joint of the drums when closed, as shown by the red lines1234inig2.- Y' f Having dcscribedthe drums, the frame, and some ge'neral'adjuncts, I will now describe the movements devices by which the wardrobe is opened and closed. I l v First, the frames B B'. are not solid, but have grooves in them, one for each end, for the passage of the racks 1,' t', figs. 1' and 2, and the cross-sections of the same are shown at :v y e in iig. 3.' These racks receive their motion from the pinions se, lig. 1, on the: shaft, and are-moved inward or outward,accordiug as the crank rotated. The-sc racks have'on their ,outer end s a step, t, into which arcsecured projections o o of the afore- .said vertical strip p, so that, when the racks are drawn. inward by their pinions, the drums A A' are likewise drawn and brought together, or extended apart, by a reverse motion of the p inions, which motions are imparted bythe crank g, as will beseen g. 1.

`In addition tothe opening and closing' of the drums, is the movement of the uprights Gr G' G", which movement is also imparted by the crank indirectly, through a system ofdeviees to be explained. To the upper face of the Lframe B, and to thelower face of the frame B', are attached, by screws, wide channels, c II c, vwhich contain the sliding feet u u' u" of the uprights G G' G". These are better shown in scc-tion at iig. 3. As the operation of any contiguous three of these sliding feet is the same in principle and forni, the lower left-hand three only will be specially explained. They are shown in cross-section in iig. 3, the red lines x rv", g/ y','rz e', in fig. 2, showing the sections taken.

The channcl-bottom H covers the rack-grooves o o, and the said channel-bottom is continuous, excepting an opening, 7c,which extends about half way to the middle of the frame, and is 'for the purpose of permitting the passagc'ofthe projection o, fig-1, when opening or closing` the wardrobe. Elsewhere the floor or bottom ofthe channel II is unbroken, the uprights having no connection with the racks beneath, except indirectly, through. the motion of the drums. .Each upright is wide enough to reach across the chan-ncl, and a littlevover; and this part of the invention is better shown by referring to fig. 3, where G'G' G" are the uprights, c c the sides of the channel, II the bottom, o the covered groove for the racks. and 7c the opening in the bottom of the channel, for the purpose previously explained. l v

The feet ofthe uprights are short strips of'wood, of rectangular section, and their width is one-third of the width Vof the channel, so that, in lying side by side, they fill up the channel, and slide by each other with easy contact. The outer upright, G, is attached to the fcetuu, figs. 1,2, and 3. The position of these feet is between those of the other two uprights, G' and G", and fig'. 1 shows the longitudinal section of them at u u. In iig. 3 this upright is shown attached to the lower foot, at Z2, section a, and the attachment'is made in the middle ot` the end oi' the upright, leaving the shoulders b' b" working over theother feet, u' u", .on either side. The feet uu ofthe said upright arc provided with a shoulder, s', at its outer end, for catching against the projections .9"3", on the head ofthe drum, when the-drum is moved outward. 'IhcA other ends of the same feet are provided with a wide vertical notch, zt', figs. l and 2. In easy contact`with this notch is apart of the ends of the second upright G', which has its feet on the left of the upright, G, as shown in iig. 3, section y. The vertical sides of the notches in the feet of the irst upright, G, bear against the cnds.of the second upright, G', when the iirst upright is moved outward or inward, thusucarrying'with it the second upright. The second upright has no notches in its feet, but there is a stop, p", in its line of motion, which prevents its undue extension, thus giving.

stability to the three uprights when they are fully extended, by means of their mutual connection by notches and ends, as hereinbefore shown anddescribed. The third upright, G", tig. 3, section e, is provided with feet similarly attached near its edge, opposite to that of G. These feet haveY notches similar to those of thc irst upright, into which the end of the second upright, G', werks with easy contact, and for the same objects as those described in the case of therst upright. The three uprights are now connected by means of the notches on the feet of two of them bearingI against the ends of -the adjacent uprights, and when the wardrobe is opened these uprights separate acertain distance, and when the wardrobe is closed they are drawn together again, thus displaying the contents in the iirst case, and permitting the closing of the wardrobe in the other, which operations are all accomplished by merely turning the crank. In the act of opening the wardrobcthe crank is turned, the rack is thrown outward, carrying with them the drums A A'..

The projection s", on the drum-heads, catches on the shoulders', on the feet of the first upright, G, through which upright acts in its turn upon the other uprights, as shown, and their extension thus follows. In closing, the projection s" doesnot perform any function, but the drum-head E bears against the first upright, which, by means of the notches before described, brings the uprights together in a similar manner to that in extending them. The end, s', of the footu is drawn in even with the end of the frames B B', by the second upright acting in its notch just as the drums are coming in contact. The uprights are provided with hooks for hanging articles thereon.

The advantages of this invention consist in the facility with which it can be opened and closed, thus serving as a receptacle for fine and frail fabrics, which it is desirable to expose for sale during the day, where they can be inspected with as little handling as possible, and covered completely at night.

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters-Patent- 1. An extension-wardrobe, constructed substantially as shown and described.

. 2. The drums or boxes A A', sliding horizontally, substantially as and for the purposes shown and described.

3. The movable uprights Gr G' G", substantially as and for the purposes shown and described.

4. The frames B B', supported by a post, D, substantially as and forthe purposes shown and described.

5. The hollow post D, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

6. The vertical shaft-a, with its pinions s s c, in combination withl i. wardrobe, substantially as and for the purposes shown and described.

7. `The channels H, in combination with the racks r r, substantially as and for the purposes shown and described.

8. The uprights Gr G' G", in combination with the notched feet u u' u", substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

9. Connecting two parts, A A', of awardrobe with racks r 1, substantially as and for the purposes shown and described.

J. G. ROUX.

Witnesses:

T. B. KENDALL, A. F. ANDR. 

